Rice is grown almost everywhere in the world, and it is truly a beloved food for numerous reasons: it is plentiful, delicious, inexpensive, and very filling.

Rice is also nutritious, since it contains several vitamins and minerals, complex carbohydrates, and no fat. Because it still contains the bran, brown rice provides more nutrients and has a more complex, slightly nutty taste.

Varieties of Rice

According to The Rice Association, at least 40,000 varieties of cultivated rice exist, though only a fraction of that number ever finds its way to the marketplace and to the cookpot. Rice is generally divided into three categories: long grain, medium grain, and short grain.

And within those categories, you’ll find numerous varieties, from the long-grain fragrant basmati and jasmine rice preferred in India and parts of Asia to the regular unscented long-grain rice the Chinese and Americans cook. Medium- and short-grain rice tends to be moister and plumper—and the very short-grain rice used for sushi has a sticky quality that lets the grains cling together.

Because rice is very versatile, it can be processed into an “instant” rice; ground up for flour; steamed, stir-fried, baked, or sautéed; and even turned into wine and beer. Some Asians also shape rice to fit into a hollow bamboo tube for grilling, roll it into a ball for wrapping in a banana leaf, or form it into cakes as a garnish for a main dish. And the Japanese celebrate the New Year with a rice cake called mochi, made from cooked and pounded glutinous rice.

How to Cook Perfect Rice

For best results, and for the cleanest rice, you should rinse the grains under cold water until the water runs clear. Then comes the “how-to-cook” challenge. Asian cooks are so adept at cooking rice that many are able to judge the grains on their age and country of origin when deciding how much water to use. For that reason, the water-to-rice ratio varies anywhere from two parts water to one part rice to an even ratio of one to one.

But a general rule of thumb is this: the “knuckle method” calls for pouring the rice into a pot, and filling it with cold water to one knuckle’s height above the top of the rice. Do not add salt or butter. Cook the rice uncovered in boiling water for several minutes—or as some Asians say, until “dragon’s eyes” (bubbles) appear on the surface—then reduce the heat to low and cover the pot.

After 10 or so minutes, the grains will be tender. Note that this refers to an Asian method of cooking long-grain white rice, their preferred grain; Western methods may differ. Brown rice requires more water and longer cooking. For detailed Western rice-cooking instructions, visit USA Rice.

That’s a fine, old-fashioned way to cook rice, but rice cookers make rice cooking just about foolproof. Just follow the manufacturer’s directions. Of course, you won’t need to puzzle over the rice’s origin or age either.